Baseball | 4/27/2015 6:56:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State will face the team's fourth ranked opponent of the season Tuesday in No. 3 Texas A&M. The last time the Bobcats faced a team ranked third nationally, Texas State beat Houston, 7-6, on Feb. 25.
 
Game Info: Texas State (18-24-1, 10-11 SBC) at No. 3 Texas A&M (37-7, 13-7 SEC)
Site: Blue Bell Park – College Station, Texas
Date: April 28
Time: 6:35 p.m.
 
Probable Pitching Matchup
#27 RHP Jeremy Hallonquist (4-2, 4.75 ERA) vs. #23 RHP Turner Larkins (5-1, 3.31 ERA)
 
The Series
Texas State and Texas A&M have played 53 games with the Aggies winning 40 of them. Head Coach Ty Harrington is 4-15 against Texas A&M, but the Bobcats are 1-1 in the last two meetings between the teams. The last time the Aggies traveled to San Marcos, the Bobcats beat them, 4-1, on April 23, 2013.
 
However, Texas State made the trip last season, and Texas A&M prevailed, 9-2. Cory Geisler, Garrett Mattlage, and Tyler Pearson led the team with two hits apiece in the game, but it was Cameron Friess who hit the team's only two RBI of the game. Texas A&M tallied 19 hits in the win while the Bobcats threw five pitchers.
 
On the Aggies
Simply put, Texas A&M is one of the best teams in the country. They come into Tuesday's night's game ranked third in the country and were ranked No. 1 by some polls just last week. However, Texas A&M is coming off a tough weekend in which the Aggies dropped two to LSU. They also dropped a series to Arkansas the weekend previous and survived UT Arlington, 4-2, in between. Texas A&M has lost four of the team's last six games. That said, before then, Texas A&M had won 11 of its last 13 games.
 
The Aggies bring the best of both hitting and pitching. The squad, as a whole, is hitting .314 on the season with 296 RBI compared to just 126 for opponents. In addition to the team's 315 hits, the Aggies have 204 walks and 46 hit by pitch with a team on-base percentage of .408.
 
Seven Aggies are hitting .330 or better, led by Nick Banks at .387. Not far behind is Logan Taylor at .372. Banks has 63 hits on the year with 14 extra-base hits, notching 35 RBI. Taylor has a team-high 41 RBI with 10 home runs and 19 extra-base hits of his 54. Blake Allemand leads the squad in runs scored with 40, but Banks isn't far behind with 37. Seven Aggies have scored 32 runs or more this season.
 
The pitching staff has been just as impressive with a team ERA of just 2.57. Tuesday's starter Turner Larkins is a big part why with a 3.31 ERA. He has 46 strikeouts to just 13 walks this year and has allowed 18 earned runs in 49.0 innings. Opponents are hitting just .266 against him.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State is coming off a weekend in which the team was swept for the first time this season, dropping all three games in a Sun Belt Conference series at Troy. Texas State has dropped five in a row and nine of the last 11 games.
 
However, they are looking to bounce back behind their bats. Tanner Hill, Granger Studdard, Cory Geisler, Colby Targun and Jared Huber have all hit well over the last 10 games. Studdard and Hill each have 12 hits in the stretch while Geisler, Targun and Huber have 10 apiece. Targun leads the squad with 10 RBI for an RBI per game average in the last 10 games. Studdard has knocked in nine runs while Hill has tallied seven with three other Bobcats with five or more. Hill and Studdard have both scored eight runs while Cedric Vallieres and Luke Sherley have seven runs each in the last 10 games.
 
Another Bobcat who has stepped up recently is freshman Theodore Hoffman. He has made appearances in the last two series for Texas State and made his opportunities count. Hoffman has been a tough out, going 4-for-10 with two walks and a hit by pitch for a .400 batting average and a .538 on-base percentage. He has stolen two bases in those six games, scored twice, knocked two doubles and added an RBI.
 
Jeremy Hallonquist gets the start for the Bobcats despite starting just on Sunday. He threw just 44 pitches in his last outing, but has shown an ability to go over 100, throwing for 94 pitches or more three times this season. He gets the start, but Blake Whitter and Tyler Giovanoni have been impressive lately in relief.
 
A Look Ahead
After this, Texas State stays on the road for a Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State in Atlanta. Upon arriving back in Texas, the Bobcats will play at Texas for the second time this season, and then host Arkansas State and UT Arlington in the final two series of the regular season.